Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-06-10
CHAPTER XIV.
ArEsnA oIvrs JupeMENr.

Tho next thing that remember was open
ing my eyes and .perceiving the form Of Job,
who hud now practically recovered from his
attack of fever. lie was standing In the ray
of light that piert ed into the cave from the
outer air, shaking out my clothes as n make
shift for brushing, them, which he could moi
do because there was no brush, and then fold
ing them up neatly and laying them ON the
foot of the stone couch. This done, he goi
my travelling dressing case out Of the Glad
stone bag and opened it ready for my use.
After l had dressed myself passed into
the eating or rather cmbalming, chamber,
and had some food, which was, as before,
brought to mo by the girl mutes When !
had finished went and saw poor Leo, who
was quite Off his head and did not even know
me. / asked Ustane how she thought he was,
but she only shook her head and began to cry
little. Evidently her hopes were small, and
/ then and there made up my mind that, ii ii
were in any way possible, would get She to
come and see him. Surely She would cure
him if She chose; at any rate, She said She
could. Whilst was in the room Billali
entered and also shook his head.
"He will die at night, he said.
@God forbid, my father" 1 answered, and
IuIneu uNll Win u HNuNg hceih
'She-who-must-be-obe commands thy
presence, my Baboon,' said the old man as
soon as we got othe curtain; "but, oh, my
dear son, be more careful Yesterday Imade
sure in my heart that She would blast thee
when thou tidst not crawl upon thy stomach
before her. She is sitting in the great hall tc
do Justice upon those who would have smitten
thee and the Lion. Come on, my son; coms
swiftly.n
l turned, and followed him down the pas
sage, and when we reached tho great central
cave saw that many Amahagger, some robed
and some merely clad in the sweet simplicity
OF leopard skin, were hurrying up it. We
mingled with the throng, and walked up the
enormous and indeed almost interminable
cave. All the way up it the walls were
deliberately sculptured, and every twenty
PAGES or so passages opened out of it at right
angles, leading, Billali told me, to tonlbs hol-
lowed in tho rock by "the people who were
before" Nobody visited those tombs now,
he said: aud must say that my heart re-
joiccd when thought of the opportunities Of
antiquarian research that opened out Detore
me.
At last we came to the head of the cave,
where there was rock dais almost exactly
similar to the one on which we had been SO
furiously attacked, a fact that proved to me
that these dais must have been used as affairs,
probably for the celebration of religious cero-
monies, and more especially Of rites connected
with the interment of tho dead On either
sidc of this dais were passages leading, Billnli
Informed me, to other caves full of dead
bodies "Indeed," he added, tho whole
l. f,,Il Of 4
them are perfect
In front of the dais were gathered great
number of people of both sexes, who stool
glaring about In their peculiar gloomy
fashion, which would have reduced Mark
Tapley himself to misery in about five
minutes. On the dais was rude chair OF
black wood inlaid with ivory, with a seat
made of grass fiber and footstool formed of
n wooden slab attached to the chair
Suddenly there was n cry of "lliyal Hiyaln
("She! Shel'0 and thereupon the entire crowd
instantly prccipitated itself upon the ground
and lay there as though it were individually
and collectively stricken dead, leaving me
standing up like some solitary survivor of a
massacre. AS they did so long string of
guards began to deflle from passage to the
left and ranged themselves ON either side of
the dais. Then followed about q score OF
male mutes, then as many women mutes
bearing lamps, and then a tall white figure,
swathed from head to foot, In whom l rocog.
nized She herself. She mounted the dais and
sat down upon the chair, and spoke to me
in Greck--I suppose because she did not wish
those present to understand what she said
"Come hitber, IIdly,D she said, "and sit at
my feet and see me do justice on those who
would have slain thee. Forgive me il my
Greek doth halt like q lame man. it is so long
since have heard the sound of it that my
tongue is stiff and will not bend to the words. "